the pulse of our community

farmers markets are the property and wealth of a community. our communities will see a rise in the demand for locally produced products and services in the coming years and decades. with this demand we will see the rise and fall of successful servants of the community.

vancouver has been a pinnacle marketplace for one of the more noted northwest farmers markets. with an 18 year history, the community of vancouver has come to expect and demand access to the variety of products and goods accessible in the park blocks of our downtown neighborhood. i came across this market when i decided to make vancouver's community my home.

you could feel some of the history as you walked down the mainline into the booths. their was so much to see. some of the more unique items i remember perusing included a booth dedicated to plants that thrive in water, nursery vendors that specialized in climbers or unique breeds of trees; the variety of garden art was enough to inspire even the non-green thumbed home owner to find a way to create a backyard oasis.

there were hundreds of vendors and it is one of my favorite weekend retreats.

lately i have felt that the variety, history and excitement of the vfm is not what it once was. if you feel the same way, let the rest of vancouver know and leave a comment. after all we are the life and breathe of our community and we have a say.

i am willing to bet you care

i am willing to bet that many of you are not interested in supporting farmers selling wholesale products from california and abroad, but are interested in buying clark county grown products.

i am willing to bet that many of you would rather see a market full of clark county, handmade and/or hand grown products.

i am willing to bet that you would also be concerned that our market is so successful that many oregon based businesses have started in our community and have stayed here. many of their communities have similar markets, but it is vancouver, washington that they call home for business. they love it so much that our market does not belong to or enjoy the benefits of the Washington State Farmers Association, because this would cap the percentage of non-washington based businesses that could operate at the market.

Some oregon vendors insist our market is only viable with the support of our border community, oregon?

many of those oregon vendors would not be able to continue operating in our community...

more on this, subscribe if you are hungry for knowledge.

seek the knowledge and use your hands

i love a great farmers market. they are lately one of the blessings in a world filled with trouble. the idea that we need to have sustainable communities has big implications for a country that has imploded itself with imports and cheap, fast production for consumption.

this idea is not new, sustainability. but it's reality in my lifetime has never been so obvious, as it is of late.

i live in vancouver, wa; which is home to a great farmers market in the downtown blocks running for 18 successful years.

5 years ago i started a business at this market. the first few years i met great people who inspired me to understand as much as i could about making things with your own two hands. your food, the ingredients, clothing, jewelry, music, art...

with your hands. i would call some the elders of the tribe.

a tribe of knowledge. some spoke with fear of a generation without knowledge of how to grow and produce, to self sustain.

in their view it was a very troubling scenario.

it was at this 3 year mark as a vendor at the market that i decided to become more aware, to gain the knowledge and to influence my community to be sustainable.

i encourage anyone to share their thoughts, opinions and knowledge as i gain knowledge and share what i have learned with you.